The Kenzie Files -- Go to Bobby
by ImpalaWriter07
Summary: Mackenzie Dawson is on her own after a hunt with her family goes wrong. Following her mother's last instructions, she goes to Bobby Singer for help, where she meets Sam and Dean.
1. Chapter 1

Fanfic attempt #1 (7/2/15)

Chapter 1. "I just want you to know who I am."

"Bobby Singer?" she asked as a gruff-looking man opened the door.

"Who's askin'?"

"I'm Kenzie Dawson. Ray and Karen's daughter."

"Karen…" he repeated thoughtfully, then stepped aside. "Kenzie, huh? Haven't seen you since you were a knee-high…C'mon in, then."

Kenzie followed him down a dusty hallway into the living room.

"What brings you up my way?" he asked as he sat down.

Kenzie sat tentatively on the edge of the couch. "Mom told us – my brothers and I – to come to you if anything ever went wrong."

"So a hunt went the wrong way? Ya'll get separated?"

"Not exactly." Kenzie shifted and looked down at her hands. "Yes. A hunt went…very, very wrong. We were taking down a vampire nest. Mom and I came in the back and the boys took the front. Maybe they weren't all asleep, maybe we made more noise than we thought…I don't know. But all of a sudden, they were all over us…"

Her voice broke and she went pale. Bobby brought her a glass of water from the kitchen and waited.

"So what happened, Kenzie?" he finally prompted.

Kenzie shook her head, "Next thing I knew, mom was hollering at us all to get out and fall back. I made it to the pickup first. Mom came next. The boys…the boys didn't make it out."

"Aw, kid…" Bobby shook his head. Karen was a good hunter; he had no doubt that her kids knew what they were doing, but taking down a nest was always dangerous, no matter how many hunters were in on the job – the vamps would have the home court advantage.

"But what are you doing here alone? You said your mom made it out? Where is she?"

Kenzie shrugged and straightened up a little, "Probably on to the next job. We haven't been getting along, and then this happened. We got back to the motel and she lit into me. She said I made too much noise getting into my position at the barn, and that I woke up the vamps. Then she said I'm not half the hunter that the boys were…long story short, she told me to leave; if I stayed, I'd just end up getting her killed, too. I wasn't sure what to do, so I came here…"

Bobby sighed, "I'm sorry, kid. Never known Karen to act like that. But it's a hard life, who knows what's going on in her head right now. You can stay here as long as you need to re-group. You can help me around here or I'll set you up with a case when you're ready, whatever you want. There's a spare room upstairs, a little dusty and cluttered, but we can make it work for ya."

"Thanks, Bobby."


	2. Chapter 2 Everything Is You

Chapter 2 "Everything is You."

"Hello, who's this?" Dean pulled the Impala into the salvage yard and took in the sight in front of him: a ruby red '69 Z28 Camaro. "Somebody new; I never forget a face."

"It's a car, Dean, not a face," said Sam, getting out of the car.

"Same thing. They're all individuals, just like people."

"Bobby?" Dean called as they walked into the house. "Bobby!"

"Quit your hollering, will ya?" Bobby said from his desk. "It's six in the morning; I could have been asleep, you know."

"But you're not."

Bobby gestured above him, "Yeah, well, my house guest is."

"So who's the guest?" asked Sam. "Same person who's got the car out front?"

"Yeah. Mackenzie Dawson. She and her mom and two brothers were hunting vampires last week; the boys didn't make it out of the nest, then Karen all but drove Kenzie off, so the kid came here. Think she plans on staying, at least for a while."

"So how long has she been a hunter?"

Bobby leaned back and thought for a few minutes, "Oh, guess it's been ten years now. Her dad was killed when she was fourteen, that's what started the whole thing. Karen made a good hunter. I don't doubt her boys knew what they were doing. Sounds like there were just too many vamps for the four of them to handle."

"Big nests – lots of things can go wrong," said Dean, shaking his head.

"She's been helping me out some in here, but mostly I've left her alone. Mostly she's been out back messing with some of those old cars, got one or two of them running, too. Anyway, think she planned on heading to their cabin today – pick up a few things. We figured we'd go down today and come back tomorrow, to give her enough time. I planned on going with her so she could bring her brother's truck down here, but maybe you two could take her; I'm knee-deep in research for a hunter down-state. I'm sure she'll be happy to get out of this dusty old house and have someone her own age for company."

"I'm not complaining. Beats a motel room by myself."

Sam and Dean turned to the voice that came from the doorway. Kenzie was about six feet tall, with light, wavy copper hair that fell almost to her waist, and she had pale blue eyes. She wore faded jeans that come down over a pair of black drover boots. Tanned arms crossed over her chest. A faded gray tee shirt fitted around her feminine curves. An array of pendants hung from a single chain around her neck. Dean noted several recent-looking scratches along her neck near the chain. She leaned on the doorframe, relaxed, but held herself ready to move, as she made a quick appraisal of the two strangers in Bobby's house. She knew from the way Bobby talked with them that they were friends, but she'd long since trained herself to always take stock of the people around her – monsters were somewhat predictable, it's humans who like to cover up their intentions. "So, road trip?"

Some three hours later, Kenzie directed Dean to turn onto a long driveway tucked back in the woods. Sam had offered her the front of the Impala, but she shook her head; she slid into the back and spoke up only to give Dean directions. She watched the changing landscape with equal parts relief at going home and anxiety of going home for the first time without her family.

The winding driveway finally led to a short but large brick house. The car bumped over something in the drive. "Iron bars," Kenzie explained, "they're buried all the way around the house, twenty feet from the building."

Kenzie unlocked the front door and stepped silently inside. It was still her home, technically, but today it felt like a tomb.

Sam cleared his throat behind her, "Um, is there anything we can help you with?"

Kenzie shook her head. Tears threatened to take hold as she looked around. "Don't think so," she said, taking a breath. Then she went on more steadily, "The spare room's down the hall there," she nodded ahead of her, "I wouldn't trust anything in the fridge, but the pantry should be pretty well stocked. I'm just going to clean things up some and pack some stuff and…" She voice trailed off and she stopped trying to play the role of hostess. Sam said something more before walking past with Dean, but she didn't hear; she went to the living room first and picked up books and put them back on the shelves, then gathered up the newspapers and notes off the coffee table. She spotted the article that put them on the vampire trail. She stared at it for several minutes before suddenly ripping it apart and throwing it away. She went through the rest of the room more quickly; anything of value she took to the study and locked in the safe. Blankets were folded and stacked on the couch. Coffee mugs were returned to the kitchen and she loaded the dishwasher while she was there. Finally she nit-picked at a few odds and ends in the front entry-way. At last she had to admit it was time: she walked slowly down the hall opposite of the spare room. She bypassed her mom's room and pushed open her own bedroom door; everything was as she left it. She could pack what she needed from there later. Then she opened the door to her brothers' shared bedroom. A mix of motor oil, leather, and Wild Country cologne hit her like a wall. She was crying in an instant. An empty house she could handle. She could handle knowing mom kicked her off the team. But to come into her brothers' room and see their possessions, smell their scent, but not see them, and know she'd never see them again, that shattered her. She curled up on one of the beds and cried until she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3 I'm Here

Chapter 3 "I'm Here"

Dean stood in the kitchen, pawing through cupboards looking for something they could pull together for lunch. As Kenzie guessed, everything in the fridge had long-since turned into a lab experiment. He finally landed on a can of beef stew and a packaged biscuit mix.

"What are you doing?"

Dean glanced over his shoulder and spotted his brother. "Um, making lunch? Why, what are you doing? You look like you've just seen your first ghost…again."

"Have you seen this house? I mean, really seen it? It's a hunter's house."

"Um, yeah. Did you miss the part where she's a hunter?"

Sam leaned back on a counter. "Okay, let me lay this out for you: notice the tubes of glass now and then between the bricks? They have water and rosaries in them – holy water. Kenzie mentioned the house being circled by iron bars. Panic room in the basement. There's some sort of gun case in every room – even the bathroom has a rifle on one wall. Hidden compartments all over the walls with all kinds of weapons and journals in them…It's like the Fort Knox of hunters' homes!"

"So this is you being impressed, right, not surprised?"

"And you're not impressed, Dean? It's the daddy of all hunter homes."

"The mommy, actually; mom wanted us to have a safe home base."

Sam jumped at Kenzie's voice suddenly beside him.

"So…you did all this yourselves?" he asked.

Kenzie shrugged, "We had the resources, so why not? Mind you, we got some strange looks from the contractors, but other than that…That smells good," she ambled over to the stove to take a sniff. She leaned over Dean's shoulder and did a double-take as she inhaled; he smelled just like her oldest brother. She stepped back and went to a cupboard for bowls and cups. She shook her head a bit. _You're imagining things, Kenzie,_ she told herself.

They sat down at the table and began to eat; until then, Kenzie had forgotten that she never even had breakfast that morning.

"So, the car belong to one of your brothers?" asked Dean.

Kenzie nodded, "The car was Brice's and the truck was Nate's."

"Nice to that kind of diversity in this line of work."

Kenzie snorted, "Good point, although that wasn't the idea. He just wouldn't give it up; he had the car before –," she stopped abruptly and quickly looked back down at her bowl. They had a lot of things before, she remembered. Then everything got torn apart and flipped upside down. She went from a promising sports career, a suburban home, high-society friends, and a complete, well-functioning family to taking shooting and knife-throwing lessons, being schooled on the road, no friends, her father dead, and her mom telling her that there really are monsters under her bed. But at least through all of that she still had her two best friends – until now.

"Kenzie?"

Kenzie looked back up to se Dean staring across the table at her, his eyes full of concern. His brilliant green eyes – like Nate's.

"Sorry," she choked out as she stood up. "Think I'll go finish packing."

She retreated to her room and tried to focus on packing what she needed, putting her valuables in the small safe in the closet, and getting everything else ready to stay in an empty house for who knows how long. All family photos were locked up, just in case someone or something got in and started snooping around. She opened her nightstand and grabbed a stack of letters to put in her bag. Brice used to write her letters when she was feeling down. He'd give them to her, labeled, "For my best girl" so no one would find them and get her name. They were all signed, "Your best buddy". She smiled as she leafed through the envelopes; Brice dated quite a bit – if you could call it that – he was never at a loss for something to do on a night off in town, but he always maintained that the most important girl in his life was his sister.

Kenzie continued tucking away important items in her brothers' room and her mom's all afternoon. Finally she snatched the spare truck keys from Nate's desk and went out the back door to the barn. As she approached, she saw that the lights were on and she could hear a voice inside. She instinctively put a hand to her gun as she stepped cautiously inside.

"You're not really my type, but I can see you needed some TLC. That should set you right, girl…or boy…or whatever." Dean wiped a spot of oil off a blue ford pickup and shut the hood.

Kenzie smiled as she spoke up, letting her hand fall to her side, "Not your type?"

Dean turned and smiled, "Well, you know, I'm more of a classic car guy than trucks."

"Me too."

"Yeah?"

"Think it's a combination of liking the way they look, and spending a _hell_ of a lot of time in one."

"Not one for riding in the truck, huh?"

"Well, mom has a pickup, but quite often she'd take her own case and the three of us set off for a different one; between the three of us, it was a good idea to have two vehicles. And when all four of us were on a case, Nate and mom rode together because he got along with her, and Brice and I were two peas in a pod, so…"

"Peas in a pod?" Dean echoed.

"Nuts in pod? No that doesn't sound quite right. But maybe more accurate."

Dean watched her intently as she talked about her brothers. Whenever she mentioned them, her eyes took on a brighter shade of blue.

Silence fell between them for a moment and when Kenzie looked up, Dean again was staring at her. She switched her gaze quickly to the truck. "Well, thanks for checking on Blue for me."

"Oh, uh, sure."

Silence again.

"Well, it's Thursday," she began.

"That it is."

"We always watch Magnum on Thursday nights. So, what do you say we go scrounge up some popcorn?"

"Magnum, really?" Dean asked in surprise; he hadn't watched Magnum in years.

"Hey, believe it or not, the internet signal back in here is actually pretty good and we've got Netflix. And don't knock Magnum, it's a great show!"

Dean held his hands up, "Hey, wasn't a complaint! Lead on, there, Higgy-Baby!"

Once inside, Kenzie took a shower in record time while Dean warmed up two bags of popcorn. When he met her at the couch, he was pleasantly surprised that she settled in close beside him. Sam had went into town on a supply run so they wouldn't have to warm up another can of stew for breakfast the next day. Kenzie opened up her Netflix on the TV to the season she and her brothers had been working their way through, then settled back, leaning her shoulder on Dean like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Dean supposed it probably was; part of her mind probably thought, "Ok, it's Thursday: Magnum on the TV? Check. Popcorn? Check. Nestle in with big brother? Check."

Except that it's not big brother. It's Dean trying to join in Kenzie's game of, "see who's the first to figure out who-done-it", and failing miserably. He was too distracted. She had one leg underneath her and that leg rubbed against Dean's, plus her shoulder in close proximity to his. He kept noticing the way she purposely dug through her popcorn to get all the buttery pieces first. She talked to the screen like the characters could hear her – evidently she considered herself a great private detective. She'd shed her tough-looking hunter attire and traded it in for scrub pants and a purple cami. Not the least of his problems, Dean was almost dizzy with the smell of her. Now fresh out of the shower, she was an overwhelming cloud of lavender and jasmine and the soft lingering scent of a woman who spent a great deal of time outside in the sun and wind.

"So what do you think? I figure the kid he thought died during the war isn't really dead and he's back for revenge."

"Hmm?" Dean pulled his mind back to the show, "Yeah, probably."

By the time the next episode came on, Sam was back, but seemed to be more than content with exploring more of the house and picking through the family's hunting journals.

Kenzie polished off her popcorn by mid-episode and commenced to reach over absently and eating from Dean's still full bag. The first time her hand drifted over his lap, he nearly jumped until he realized she was just going for more popcorn.

After the episode ended, Dean took the bags to the kitchen and expected Kenzie to turn in for the night. When he came back though, she'd calmly picked out a Remington Steele episode and pulled a worn jean-jacket quilt over her lap. Dean settled back down beside her and this time tried to put more focus on solving the mystery first. She'd mentioned on the drive to the cabin that she was a night owl, but after a two more episodes, Dean wondered if she was pulling an all-nighter – not something a hunter usually spent energy on unless they were on a hunt.

Finally, Kenzie admitted defeat and turned the TV off. Dean stretched and moved to get up, but when he looked over at Kenzie, she had her knees drawn up under chin and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs.

"Kenzie?"

"I don't want to sleep," she said in a tiny voice. "They're not here."

"Oh, honey," Dean moved back over and placed an arm around her.

"I keep thinking they're just late," she said, starting to cry, "and if I stay up late enough, they'll come home. I've never stayed here alone."

Dean pulled her into both arms and rested his chin on her head. "You're not alone, Kenzie. I'm here. I'll stay with you if you want?"

All Kenzie could do was nod against his chest. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together enough to get up and walk to her bedroom. Dean followed and when Kenzie had settled into her bed, Dean laid down beside her. Kenzie noted that he laid on top of the first blanket, rather than crawling in right beside her. He left a barrier, which Kenzie saw as a sign of respect; it made her smile just a bit – if the situation were different, and her brothers saw her bring home a guy who would lay on top of the blanket…but she dismissed that thought. She'd be lucky if Brice let him sleep in the house, never mind being in her bed.

She rolled so she faced Dean, instinctively seeking comfort from him. And he gave it. Dean pulled her close and wrapped both arms around Kenzie until her head was resting on his shoulder. He rubbed a hand over her back as she continued to cry – first softly, as if she was afraid to show too much. But Dean encouraged her to let it out, assuring her she was safe and that he'd stay. Suddenly her sniffles turned to sobs that racked her body against him and tears streamed freely down her face while Dean continued to rub her back and murmur words of comfort. Eventually she calmed and fell asleep to the steady, low tones of his voice.


	4. Chapter 4 Nightmares and Dreams

Chapter 4 "Nightmares and Dreams"

"Seriously? You watched Magnum without me?" Brice stood in the door way looking at her indignantly. "You opted for a night with him instead of me," he nodded to the sleeping figure beside her, "and where does he get off sleeping in your room?"

"Brice?" she breathed, standing up and stepping around the bed. "Brice, how…how did you get here?"

"Walked, thank you very much. And let me tell you, that is a long hike."

Kenzie just stared. He _was_ here. He _did_ come home.

"You didn't stick around to wait for me," he went on, "You just retreated and bugged out."

"But…But I thought you were dead!"

Brice shrugged and stepped into the moonlight spilling across the floor, "I am dead, sis."

Kenzie gasped when she saw him: his body was full of rips and tears; a bite on his neck indicated where all the blood left his body, leaving him a ghastly white. Kenzie's eyes widened. "Brice? What's going on?"

"I told you, I'm dead. That's what mom told you, right? And did you come back to know for sure? Nope. You ran away. And I died. I died a horrible, slow, agonizing death. Maybe if you came back to know for sure, maybe you could have gotten me out. Nate too."

"No. No, Brice, it wasn't like that! Mom told me the vampires already got you! I would have gone back! I _wanted_ to go back!"

Brice shook his head sadly. "You left me. Us. Brought this stray into our home and you didn't even try…" His voice trailed off as he stared intensely at Dean. Kenzie followed her brother's gaze and screamed when she saw Dean, the cuts on Brice slowly mirroring on Dean's body until he was bloody and pale.

"No! Brice, what are you doing?"

"It's not me, Kenzie," his voice and figure morphed until her mother was standing in front of her. "It's not me, Kenzie. It's you. You got your brothers killed. Stick around long enough, you'll be the death of this man, too."

Her mother vanished as Dean let out a horrible scream from the bed.

Kenzie gasped and sat straight up in bed, crying and shaking. It had been nearly a week since she came back to Bobby's and the nightmares came every night, steadily growing worse, but this was the first time one of the nightmares included Dean.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, trying desperately to shake off the images of Brice's body and the sound of Dean's screams. After of few minutes of staring into her dark room, she got dressed, put her handgun into her hip holster, grabbed a flashlight, and went outside. She walked silently to the garage – her place of haven for the last few nights – and set about what had become a nightly ritual of finding some odd or end something to tinker with until morning. Tonight her eyes landed on an old radio that Bobby wanted to strip down for metal. She turned on one small light above her and cleared a place on the work bench to sit on and commenced to pull the radio apart, making piles for the various kinds of metal and another for wires and plastic. She threw her mind entirely into the job, thinking her way through the radio's various layers. One particular nut refused to loosen, but she was ready for a fight, ready to take her fears and sleepless frustrations out on something, and clamped the wrench firmly onto the stubborn nut. She twisted hard, not caring that her knuckles lost a fair amount of skin when it suddenly jerked loose. She glanced at her knuckles indifferently; a little lost skin is not even close to the pain her brothers felt when they died. She deserved a little pain for escaping that death.

She was so intent on her project that she didn't hear the boots crunching on the gravel in the drive. When she finally noticed someone approaching her, her only option was to try to leap off the bench and run. She poised to do so until she heard his voice.

"It's only me," Dean stepped into view and she still almost jumped out of her skin on pure instinct.

"Jeepers, Dean! Don't sneak around like that!"

"I wasn't trying to sneak; I was even trying to make noise while I came in."

"Oh." Kenzie relaxed and turned back to her project.

"So what are you doing out here?"

"I'm ripping a radio apart." As if for emphasis, she tugged loose a wire and tossed it onto one of the piles beside her.

"Yeah, ya know, I kind of figured that part. I know you're a night owl, but it's four in the morning. Doesn't your owl ever roost?"

Kenzie shrugged, but didn't look up. "Couldn't sleep. Nightmares."

"Ah."

Another screw refused to loosen so Kenzie finally pulled on the old plastic until it broke off, cutting her thumb in the process. She hissed at the pain, but went stubbornly on.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dean asked as his eyes honed in on the bleeding cut.

"What's to say? Hunters see nightmares everyday; why should they bother me at night?"

"Because during the day we rationalize what's happening, feelings aside, we get the job done. At night our brains keep putting things together, even the things we don't want to remember. That mixes feelings in. Believe me, you can't just put it out of your mind and move on. You have to let it out sometimes, or it can eat you alive and everyone around you, too. Trust me, I'm an expert on holding it in."

Kenzie paused. She knew he was right, but she also knew she needed to stop dwelling on those dreams; she needed to stop having them. She was a hunter – she needed to move on and keep her head in the here and now. But she had to admit, she missed having someone to talk to and she didn't know how to attack the nightmares on her own – she was far too tired for that.

She told him. How the nightmares started the first night she stayed at Bobby's and at first they were just dark shapes and voices reminding her what happened at the nest. Then they progressed to images of her battered, bloody brothers speaking to her. Finally she told him about the latest nightmare and how she heard her mother telling her to leave Bobby, Sam, and Dean before she killed all of them, too. By the time she stopped talking, there was nothing left of the radio to demolish and she set its remains aside and hopped to the floor.

Dean listened without interrupting, processing the progression of the nightmares and thinking of some why to assure her that it was not her fault that her brothers died.

"It wasn't your fault, Kenzie," he said at last.

"You don't know that."

"I don't think you do, either."

Kenzie was quiet for a moment. She wrapped her bleeding thumb into her shirt and held it tight until the blood clotted. Then she got an idea.

"What do vampires usually do with a body after it's drained?" She looked up, finally meeting Dean's eyes.

"I guess I never really thought about it. I suppose they bury them or something; they wouldn't want anyone to find the bodies. Why?"

"And once the nest is attacked, they usually move out, right?"

"I guess so. They'd want to find a safe place to regroup. What are you thinking?"

"I want to go back. I want to see if…if their bodies were left behind or not. And I want to make sure I'm remembering the whole thing correctly…Will you go with me, Dean?"

"You bet. Sounds like a good idea."

Kenzie nodded her head and finally let out a yawn.

"But right now, you need some sleep," said Dean, turning off the light above them and turning Kenzie gently back towards the house.

"I..I don't…I don't think I can."

Dean pulled her in close to his side. "I'm still here; I'll stay with you."

Kenzie smiled when Dean again laid down beside her on top of one blanket and wrapped his arms around her. She stared into the darkness for several minutes, listening to him talk; not really hearing what he was saying but enjoying the soothing sound of his voice. It made her think of camping out with Brice – they'd take a night off and park at a campsite or at a beach, build a fire, and watch the stars and talk for hours about things they wanted to do, places they wanted to see, what they would do after they stopped hunting. Neither of them were ever sure they would stop hunting, but that didn't stop them from imagining what it would be like. They couldn't honestly see anything beyond this life.

Now Kenzie saw it: still the same life, but with a light in it – a green-eyed, strong but soft someone who was quickly becoming her best friend.


	5. Chapter 5 Return

Chapter 5 "Return"

Blood. Grime. Death. Darkness, if that even had a smell. They mingled together and seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the old barn. Kenzie stepped inside, machete in hand, retracing her steps from the day of the hunt. Dean was close beside her while Sam came in the front, just in case some vampires had stayed. But all was quiet; all the scents were stale. Kenzie could see they left in a hurry – a few possessions were strewn around, furniture was knocked over. They'd seen to their dead; four out of the twelve, as she remembered it. Kenzie made her way across the dirt floor the same way as before. She could visualize Nate and Brice sneaking in across the room from her. They'd figured they could each get two before the others could react. But it didn't work out. Where did it go wrong?

Kenzie frowned and looked around, trying to place every detail she could. She glanced back the way she came. What had been her mom's position? Suddenly she had no idea. Karen said she'd be right behind Kenzie, but when she called for retreat, she'd been far off to Kenzie's right. What was she doing over there?

Kenzie stepped over to the right and gasped when she turned the corner into a stall. She quickly covered her mouth and glanced back to see if Dean or Sam had heard her, but they were across the room, looking for traces of her brothers' bodies.

She composed herself and tried to rationalize the sight, but no explanation came to mind except one. She shook her head made her way to Dean and Sam. "Find anything?" she asked shakily.

"No trace," said Sam. "Maybe they buried them or something; I'm going to check outside real quick for fresh turned dirt."

Dean looked over at Kenzie; she was pale and shaky. "Doin' ok?"

"Just about had my fill of this place, that's all."

They joined Sam outside a few minutes later.

"Found this," he said, holding out a silver wolf's head on a chain. "No sign of graves, though."

Kenzie took the necklace. "Brice's," she confirmed and added it to the collection around her neck. "Guess that's it, then," She looked back at the barn one last time then headed for the Impala, a maze of questions running through her mind over and over, attempting in vain to come up with an answer that she would like.

A week later Kenzie was curled up in a motel room chair, pouring over news articles on her laptop. She skeptical about getting back into the game, and especially about going after vampires. She hated their kind with a new passion, but she worried about being capable of staying alive, not to mention watching Sam and Dean's backs, too. But she knew deep down she had to go on, so she let Dean talk her into it. He said if she didn't try, she'd be afraid of vampires forever and eventually the fear would take over altogether.

Dean closed a book and looked across the table, watching Kenzie. He was sure she'd seen something back at the barn, but he didn't push it; she'd talk when she was ready and no one on God's green earth could force her to do it sooner. She was usually patient and slow to speak up, but he'd learned she was no one to push into a corner, either. She was like a cat – cute and fun to cuddle, yes, but she had claws and she would use them. She usually got right to the point when she spoke, something she attributed to growing up with two boys. Most girls might hedge around questions, but not Kenzie. She was a planner, too, always looking ahead when time afforded and when it didn't, she made decisions quickly and pushed through. She was insecure about this particular hunt, but that made sense – no one bounces back right away when family dies at the hands of a monster. Otherwise, she'd settled into hanging out with him and Sam like they were her brothers. _Scratch that,_ thought Dean smiling, _Sam is like her brother._ The last few days she'd preferred to stick close to Dean. Close-close. Right beside him on the couch at Bobby's, in diner booths, lounging on the motel bed in the evenings.

Dean cleared his throat, making Kenzie jump. She'd been staring intently at the computer screen, trying to ignore the fact that Dean was staring at her. Again. He seemed to do a lot of that.

"So, it's Thursday," he said.

Kenzie furrowed her brows, still thinking about the case; what the heck did Thursday have to do with anything?

"Can you get Netflix on that thing or what?"

Finally it dawned on her. "Oh. Yeah, I guess."

"Channel twelve," said Sam, without looking up.

"Hmm?"

"TV guide here says it's on twelve tonight. Two episodes, starting at nine."

"There ya go," said Dean. "Half hour from now."

Kenzie set her computer aside and stretched, opting to take a shower first, as Sam tended to forget how long he was in there and use up the hot water. When she came back into the room, Sam took his turn, leaving Kenzie to settle into her usual place right beside Dean. She propped herself up on the bed, legs out in front of her and ankles crossed.

As the first episode started, Dean looked out the corner of his eye and saw her intently watching the opening scenes, trying to spot something that would help her solve the case first.

Usually, she did solve it first, or she'd at least come up with a theory first. Tonight she simply couldn't concentrate. She felt like Dean had been keeping tabs on her ever since they left Bobby's, which she normally didn't mind, but he seemed to be _looking_ at her an awful lot. And she had to admit, she'd _like_ to look at him a whole lot more. What was this anyway, she wondered. He'd comforted her at the cabin, become her defender when the nightmares hit. That made sense. What made less sense was her increasing desire to _look_ at him. Sure, she'd been attracted to men before, but never been in anything close to a relationship. When the questions came around to, "what do you do for a living" she couldn't exactly say, "I chop the heads off vampires and kill the things hiding under kids' beds," that would get her a one-way ticket to the loony bin. Meeting another hunter never entered her mind before. Maybe she'd just assumed she would always be with family and no one else.

As Kenzie figured, Sam was still in the bathroom fifteen minutes later. She was lost in thought as she stared at the screen. She didn't even realize when she started her usual bout of talking to the screen.

Dean smiled as he listened in.

"Turn around," she muttered. "Why do you never turn around? They're always behind you, everyone knows that…told ya…She's playing you, Thomas, like they all do…Although, yes, that was a nice gesture," she finished out loud, in her normal voice.

"What was nice?"

She jumped, suddenly remembering Dean was right beside her.

She gestured toward the screen, "He always waits to make sure she's ready before he moves. Not every guy will do that."

"I do that," Dean said, moving his head in close beside hers.

Kenzie's breath caught when she felt Dean nuzzling into her hair. "Yeah," she managed to get out, "you do."

Dean pushed against her head and she tipped it, letting him closer. Then she felt his breath on her neck, barely touching her with his lips. He moved slowly up, along her jaw, finally meeting her lips, which she parted almost immediately. He was softer than she expected and he moved lightly, not forcing into her.

"So," he murmured, "is this ok?"

Kenzie smiled. "Mm-hmm. I'm ready."

Dean kissed her again, slowly giving more heat. She relaxed more as he slipped one arm around her, and then almost immediately jumped when she felt one rough, warm hand barely under the hem of her shirt. Dean smiled against her then pushed in a bit harder. She brought a hand up to his neck.

She didn't know how much time had passed with a loud sound from the bathroom made her jump and pull away. Dean hovered for a moment more, then they took up their original places and turned their eyes back to the TV just as Sam stepped back into the room. Kenzie tried to put her mind back into solving the crime but eventually gave up, concentrating instead on the feel of Dean's hand in hers.


	6. Chapter 6 You Will Do

Chapter 6 "You Will Do"

Kenzie woke up just as daylight was creeping into the motel room. She felt a tug on her shoulder and heard a gravelly voice beside her saying, "Time to get up; it's bedtime for vampires."

She reluctantly pulled away and went to the bathroom to get dressed. She came back out as Sam stepped into the motel room with cups of coffee and some breakfast burritos in his hands. How he managed to get up so early every day was beyond her. She sat silently through breakfast; break of dawn was not her finest hour, and she preferred not to talk if she didn't have to.

Kenzie sipped on the last of her coffee and slid into the back of the Impala while Dean and Sam put their bags in the trunk.

"I'm just saying," Sam lowered his voice as they approached the car, "we did find out some of these vamps were the ones that killed her brothers. She might get a little reckless."

"I know, Sam, I'll watch her back."

"It'd be a better idea if you watched her front…Wait; that came out badly…"

Dean smirked as he shut the trunk, "I don't think it came out badly. Accurate, actually; I _do_ watch her front."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I noticed, Dean. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll keep track of her."

When they reached the nest, they decided to all go in the front together. It was safer that splitting up and finding out too late that there were more vampires than they thought. Dean quietly opened the door of the house, Kenzie close on his heels. They crept through the house, one room at a time. They found the two missing locals – about one feeding time too late.

"At least they should be full and sleepy," Dean whispered.

"Way to find the silver lining," Kenzie responded dryly.

As Dean lead them down another hallway, a loose panel in the wall caught her eye. She found a small hole and stuck her finger in, tugging at the panel. "Dean, Sam!" she whispered, pulling it open. It opened to a staircase, presumably to a full basement where the creatures in question would be sleeping the day away.

Dean moved as if to go down first, but Kenzie was already there. Then suddenly, two bloody eyes were in front of her! Kenzie screeched as a hand snatched toward her. She swung her machete with practiced accuracy and took out the first vampire. Then it felt like she was back at the barn – they were everywhere. Sam and Dean rushed past her down the steps, swinging their blades at each new target as it leapt out of the shadows at them. She froze; half of her mind was yelling at her to run away and the other half was telling her to cut down the dirt bags that killed her brothers before they could get Sam and Dean too.

A vampire jumped onto the steps in front of her and grabbed her by the neck before she could react. "It wasn't supposed to go this way," he said, tightening his grip. She could faintly hear Dean yelling, fighting his way back towards her. "It wasn't supposed to be you," he went on, "but you will do." With that, he picked Kenzie off her feet, and threw her down the stairs amongst the rest of the nest.

"Kenzie!"

She hurt – glory, did she hurt all over – but she pulled her machete and killed two vampires as the swooped down on her. Then Dean and Sam were there, hacking and swinging until they reached her. As Sam dropped the last vamp, Dean dropped to the floor beside Kenzie and put his hands to her face. "Are you okay, Kenzie?"

She groaned as Dean helped her sit up. "Hell, no I'm not okay! Just got thrown down on a cement floor, I'll be lucky if nothing's broken! And what was that, anyway? Vampires are strong, but that guy picked me up like I was nothing! That's no regular vamp."

"And that one got away," said Sam. "Might be a good idea to leave now and ask questions later. Who knows if he'll come back with reinforcements?"

"Right," said Dean, helping her stand, "Let's get back to base and make sure you're alright."

Sam drove them back to Bobby's so Dean could sit in the back with Kenzie; he wanted to make sure she stayed awake in case she had a concussion. At the house, Dean refused to let her stand and instead bundled her up and carried her into the house and up to her room.

"Dean," she mumbled as he laid her onto the bed, "I'm ok, I'm just tired."

"You're not ok, you got thrown across the room, remember?" Dean settled in beside her. "I'm going to wake you up every couple of hours, got it?"

Kenzie grumbled something unintelligible, but pulled the covers up and was soon asleep.

Dean did wake her up every other hour. At first she slept soundly, but eventually her mind started to process everything that happened. She woke up shaking and breathing fast as another shock of adrenaline kicked in.

"Easy, Kenzie," Dean whispered.

But she couldn't relax. She sat up with Dean and leaned against him. Dean turned on the small bedside lamp and talked to her as he ran his fingers up and down her arm and her breathing gradually slowed.

"Anything you want to tell me?" he asked. Questions about what happened at the barn still gnawed at him, but he wouldn't approach that now. What mattered was what happened today.

"Can't right now."

Dean nodded and his hand drifted up to rub her shoulder and eventually ended up toying with the various pendants on her necklace.

"What are all of these?" he asked.

"Wolf head is Brice's."

"Mm-hmm."

"The blue stone feather I found in a parking lot when I was a kid."

Dean trailed his fingers down the feather that hung precariously low on her chest. Kenzie enjoyed the feeling of his fingertips on her skin for a moment before going on, "The pink agate is from Nate, for my eighteenth birthday and the gold rose is from Brice on my twenty-first."

"What about this one?" Dean fingered a single rain-drop shaped pearl that hung on its own golden chain.

"That…That's the last thing my dad gave me."

Dean nodded understandingly and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Mom told me hunters shouldn't carry things that link them to their families, but…"

"But you've got to have something," Dean finished.

Dean splayed his right hand out on Kenzie's lap. "I wear my mom's wedding ring."

Kenzie's fingers explored the ring on his hand; she'd noticed it before, but never recognized it as a woman's ring. Now she could tell.

"And my necklace was a Christmas present from Sammy when we were kids."

Kenzie was silent for a moment, then, "I…I saw something at the barn," she said in a small voice.

Dean shifted; he wanted to know, but he stayed quiet and kept Kenzie close to him. Whatever she was about to say, it had scared her enough to keep it from him until now.

"I thought mom had been right behind me when we went in; that was the plan we talked about. But then I remembered, I heard her voice off to my right when she called for us to get out of there."

Kenzie paused and pressed back closer into Dean; he held her hand to assure her he was there.

"I looked into the stall on the far right side…Mom's machete was in there – sheathed – and a note, in her handwriting, saying when we would be there and what everyone's positions would be."

Dean tensed, about to speak, when she went on. "Then today, at the house, just before he threw me, the vampire said, 'it wasn't supposed to be you, but you will do.'…What…what could he mean, Dean?"

Dean stared into the shadows of the room and finally shook his head. "I don't know, honey. But we will find out."


	7. Chapter 7 Wrong Man for the Job

Chapter 7 "Wrong Man for the Job"

"Fool! You let her get away?!" a voice hissed angrily.

"She had company with her – two hunters – they wiped out the rest of the nest, like that!" the other snapped his fingers.

"I cut you into a deal and you fail, twice now, to capture a single target! I don't _have_ to let you do this, you know. My kind has taken care of this for thousands of years. The only reason I let you do this is because you've never failed before!"

"The hunters –," the voice faltered.

The black-garbed creature waved a hand, "Hunters, hunters! She's a hunter, too. Why should any of them get the best of you? Having to fend of hunters is no excuse; we all do that!"

"Winchesters."

The creature paused, thinking. Finally he spoke again, "Winchesters. Annoying, but we can get around them. _If_ you think you can manage to get past the Winchesters to our target, I will let you try once more. But I warn you: if you cannot fulfill the agreement, you shall be targeted as well."


	8. Chapter 8 One of My Nightmares

Chapter 8 "One of My Nightmares"

"How long does a perimeter check take?" Kenzie mumbled just loud enough to be heard.

"Don't worry," said Sam, "Dean won't get lost."

Kenzie made a face, anxious for Dean to come back. She'd been restless the last few days. She would be happy when it was time to close in on their target and have the hunt over with.

"Gosh, it's hot," she complained. "How come hunts happen during the day, when it's so blazing hot?" she gathered up her long hair and proceeded to tame it back into a braid.

"Should have taken a shower before we left," Sam suggested.

"Lot of good it would have done me by now, sitting in a car for half an hour. Besides, with the amount of time it took you to shower last night, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't any water left at all; honestly, boy, you take more time in there than a teenage girl!"

"I was thinking on my feet!" he said defensively. "Looking back, it wasn't my best plan ever, but it was all I had!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Kenzie, you two have been practically inseparable! I thought if I gave you and Dean just a few minutes, you'd get things going and cut that damned tension that's been hanging between you two!"

Kenzie smiled widely, "Let me get this straight: you've been taking long showers so you'd have a front seat to hearing your brother and me make out? Oh, had I known, I could have made sure we made a little more noise for ya; didn't know you were into that kind of thing, Sammy," Kenzie made a provocative wink and licked her lips as she finished talking.

Sam squirmed scowled as he glanced around outside the car. "Like I said, it wasn't my best plan ever. In my defense, have you noticed that I've been making the supply runs? Offering to put gas in the Impala? Taking fifteen minutes to make a five minute walk to the motel office to get ice that we don't even need? Then I had to drop something in there so you'd finish it off with Dean and I could come back out of the bathroom! I never thought you two would take so long to –," Sam glared a Kenzie, who was now curled up on her side of the seat, arms around her belly, laughing. "Never mind," he finished grumpily.

"Ha! Where did you study subtlety, Sam? Ha! Ha! You might just as well told us you were going for a walk or something so we could get busy!"

"Dean would never let me hear the end of it," he grumbled.

Kenzie wiped tears of her face as she heard Dean approaching the car. "What? And you think I will? I had two brothers, Sam; I know all about taking ammo when it's handed right to me!"

Kenzie stopped laughing but was holding back a huge smile as she retreated to the back seat. Sam slid across the front seat as Dean climbed back into the driver's side.

"Well," said Dean, "that's definitely our missing vamp in there, but he hasn't settled down for the day yet. We'll have to wait a few hours to be sure. Unless you're into just walking up and ringing his doorbell, eh, Sam? That'd be a little unconventional, though."

Dean suddenly noticed the look on his brother's face just as Kenzie piped up from the back seat, barely containing the laughter in her voice, "Oh, I don't know, Dean. Sam's into all kinds of unconventional stuff, aren't ya, Sam?"

Sam threw a nasty glare over his shoulder which only seemed to egg on the mischievous look on Kenzie's face, but she stayed quiet – for now.

Dean smirked and raised an eyebrow, looking first at Kenzie then Sam. "So…what did I miss?"

Sam maintained his glare and looked out his window. See if he ever tried to help again…

After a few minutes, Kenzie settled back into her seat and flipped her braid over the back of her seat and sighed. "Don't suppose we could start the car and turn the air on, Dean?" she asked hopefully.

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror and almost stopped breathing when he saw her. He'd never seen her with her hair pulled back; he preferred it loose, but he liked the new look, too. She was sprawled out on the seat, flushed. Beads of sweat were running down all over her body, which made Dean think of cooling off, which made him think about showers, and what Kenzie smelled like straight out of the shower, which made him think about Kenzie in the shower and…

Dean blinked and looked back out the windshield as he shifted to a new position in his seat. "Can't do, Kenzie; don't want our friend down the drive to hear the engine."

"Rats."

"Cut that mane of hair back and you'd be better off," said Sam.

"People in glass houses, Sam," Kenzie jabbed back without missing a beat.

"Do I have to separate you two?" Dean teased.

"Oh, don't worry, Dean. If Sam thinks anyone needs space he gives it. And I assume when he wants to come back, he'll let us know rather loudly, eh Sam?"

Sam stayed silent for the remainder of their wait and Kenzie ended up taking a nap. When Dean woke her, she was just as warm but didn't have the drowsy feeling left over by a hot summer day hanging over her.

When they approached the house, she stayed a step behind Dean and two steps left of Sam, as agreed. They didn't plan on being separated this time around.

Kenzie was ready this time when a pale face jumped out of the shadows and warned its nest of intruders with a screeching yell. Dean swung first and together, the three of them cut their way into the house. Kenzie determined to stay close to Dean – for her own safety as well as his – but as more vampires entered the room she found herself herded away until she stood surrounded by her enemies. She fought back, using every trick she could think of, landing her machete on first one neck and then another. Finally, as she made her way back towards Dean, she heard a terrible, blood-curdling howl. Her eyes widened as she took the last few steps over to Dean and Sam. The scream intensified until Kenzie squinted. As she did so, the vampire they'd been looking for stepped into the room and towards Kenzie, arms outstretched. Sam jumped from beside Dean and swung his machete, but the vampire reached out and caught his arm and threw him back.

"Sam!" Dean instinctively turned to his brother, leaving Kenzie unguarded.

She lunged away, but too late. Once again, the vampire had her by the neck. But instead of trying to hurt her as before, he turned to take her to the basement.

Before he made it out of the room with her, something crashed through one of the windows! As sunlight spilled into the room, the vampire yelled with rage. The light fell across him and he suddenly released his grip on Kenzie.

"Get out, quick!" a voice sounded from outside.

Dean wasted no time pulling Sam to his feet and half-carrying, half-dragging Kenzie outside. They ran away from the house, stopping some twenty yards from the house.

Sam stayed facing the house to keep watch as they caught their breath.

"Strike three for catching Super-vamp," Kenzie croaked out as she leaned on Dean.

"Four for me," said the voice, "You'd think he'd be tired by now."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the stranger in front of them. He looked just a bit older than Kenzie but he looked tired and his clothes were worn. Sandy brown hair matched his eyes.

Suddenly Kenzie stiffened against Dean, "Dean, wake me up; I'm having one of my nightmares."

"I've had better greetings," said the stranger.

At her words, Sam turned to face them again.

"Not dreaming, hon," said Dean, pulling her closer.

"Gotta be," she whispered.

"And you are?" asked Sam.

"Dead," said Kenzie.

Dean looked at her. "Come again?"

"Other people call me Nathan Dawson," he said, looking at Kenzie. "Hate to disappoint ya, kid, but I ain't dead."

Kenzie started to move towards him, but Dean held her back, "Hang on; let's get back up the drive to car."

"Dean," Kenzie started.

"Look, Kenzie, according to you, this kid's been dead for nearly a month. I think a little silver and holy water is called for here."

Kenzie nodded; even she was doubting what she saw, and she knew there was little good in arguing with Dean about anything.

Back at the Impala, Sam pulled out a silver knife and a flask.

"Cheers," said Nate taking a drink. Then he made a cut on the back of his wrist, "Stings like any good cut should," he said cheerfully, "but I'm not sizzling like bacon. Mind if I talk to my sister now?"

Kenzie slipped out from under Dean's arm.

"Umph," Nate grunted as she nearly tackled him. "Umm, aren't you going to ask what happened? Or didn't happen?"

"Nope," Kenzie mumbled against his shoulder.

"Gonna tell me who your friends are? I thought Brice had the talk with you about picking up more than one guy at a time."

"Dork," she said, pulling back. "They're friends of Bobby Singer's; Dean and Sam Winchester."

"Ah, Singer. Mom's plan B, right? Where is mom, anyway?"

Kenzie dropped her gaze uncomfortably and looked back at Dean for help.

Dean got the message. "Look, why don't we all go back to the motel and get all this straightened out? Too hot to be standing out in the sun today."

Kenzie silently slipped back into the Impala, this time sitting in the front. They waited for Nate to catch up in a beat-up old pickup so he could follow them back. He offered Kenzie to ride with him, but she shook her head. She thought Nate had been dead all this time and recently she'd suspected he'd been set up to die. Seeing him alive crowded too many thoughts into her already full and confused mind. As soon as Dean started the car, she reached over and turned on the radio, trying desperately to drown out the tidal wave of questions in her head.


	9. Chapter 9 Tell Me Again

Chapter 9 "Tell Me Again"

"So, what happened at the barn? Who wants to start?" Kenzie flopped down on the foot of the bed next to Dean. Sam sat on the other bed near the door while Nate took his spot in a chair next to the table.

Nate sighed, "I don't know; where did things start to go downhill for you?"

Kenzie retold her story for what felt like the millionth time. "Mom and I came in from the back; you two were in front, right?" She paused and Nate nodded as she continued, "We were all about to take our first swing…then all of a sudden they were all over us. Mom called retreat and told me to start running for the truck. That's where she met up with me and said the vamps got you two."

Nate leaned on the table and thought back. "Yeah, Brice and I came through the front doors like we were supposed to…It sounds crazy, but I almost could swear I heard someone right before mom called out…"

Kenzie tensed, quite sure she knew what was coming. "What do think you heard?"

Nate was quite for a few minutes, and then he took a breath. "No, I'm sure. I heard someone whisper something like, 'Now, this one. This is the one she said.' Then that voice woke everyone up."

Kenzie hesitated, then told Nate about finding their mom's machete and the note in her handwriting.

Nate sat shaking his head, "No. No, either you're wrong or I am; we're messing something up somewhere."

Kenzie sighed then stood to retrieve the crumpled note from her bag.

"Yeah, it looks like hers," agreed Nate. "But how could they have gotten a hold of it? And why did she put her blade away?"

Kenzie shook her head without answering; she still had suspicions, but now wasn't the time to lay them out. Until they had something more to go on, it was best to keep them to herself.

"So where's mom? What made you resort to plan B?"

Kenzie sat back down beside Dean and told Nate about the fight she and her mom had and how she ended up moving into Bobby's house and working with Sam and Dean.

"Wow," said Nate, "I know you haven't been getting along lately, but I'd never have expected that."

Kenzie shrugged.

"How you feeling?"

"I feel like finding Super-vamp and getting some answers."

"Speaking of," said Dean, "You still haven't explained what happened to _you_ at the barn. How did you get here?"

"Yeah, that," Nate rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well, like I said, I heard that voice, then mom was yelling and we saw you making back for the door. When we started to turn around, though, the way out was totally blocked – all those hammocks, with what were thought were sleeping vamps? They were all fake bodies in there! Then they were totally surrounding us – you and mom were gone…" He stopped and rubbed his neck again, "Well, we fought our way out of it, but it was nasty. I dropped Brice off at an E.R., and –,"

"Brice made it out too?" Kenzie practically yelled.

"Yeah. Well, see, I haven't heard from him since the hospital. See…I got bit – turned actually – so I hot-footed it out of there and got myself cured – one of mom's hunter friends nearby helped me out. But when I went back for Brice a few days later, the doctors said he left. I have no idea where he is now."

"So Brice got bit but not turned?" asked Dean.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, he was hurt pretty bad. I thought it was strange they wanted to turn me, but seemed to just want to flat-out kill him. Didn't make sense, but monsters seldom do."

They were all quiet for a few minutes before Kenzie spoke up again. "So where do we go from here? Ok, so we've got Nate back, but we have no idea what happened to Brice. And who or what is this vampire we keep dealing with?"

"Why don't we try asking back at the hospital?" suggested Sam. "I could take Nate back there and ask around. You and Dean can look for info on our vampire."

"Sounds good to me," said Nate.


	10. Chapter 10 That Was Nothing?

Chapter 10 "That was nothing?"

Kenzie waited until she heard the truck drive away then she all but bolted to the bathroom, shutting herself in. She slid to the floor beside the door and pulled herself into a ball. The piles of questions in her head were increasing by the second and she felt crippled by the fears and emotions that came with them. She cried silently for several minutes, letting some of the pressure off. She knew Dean was waiting for her to help research their mystery vampire, but her only thought at the moment was pulling herself together enough to get through the rest of the day.

Just when she thought she could handle things, she heard Dean knocking on the door. "Kenzie? You okay?"

Kenzie gulped and tried to find her voice, "I'm…I'm fine."

But her voice was too broken. "Come out here, Kenzie."

She pulled herself to her feet, hanging on to the edge of the sink for support. After a couple more big breaths she pulled the door open. Dean was mere inches away on the other side.

"What's the matter, Kenzie?"

What's the matter? How could one human being sum up having monsters kill her brothers, being driven away by her mother, questioning why they went into the nest in the first place, being taken in by strangers, finding out her brothers were in fact alive, and…

"Kenzie?" Dean prompted quietly, "What's wrong?"

Her body decided to speak for her mind. Suddenly her eyes spilled over with tears and she was forced to take a great gasp for air. To top things off, her knees seemed to be yelling timber and threatening to come out from under her.

Dean scooped her into a bear hug and walked her the few steps to the bed, where he settled Kenzie down beside him.

Dean kept one arm protectively around Kenzie, while his other hand traced soothing lines over her arm, back, and through her hair.

"What are we thinking, honey?" Dean murmured.

"They're alive," she croaked.

"Yes, they are."

"I grieved them, I would have buried them if I could, and now Nate is here…I'm happy, but I…I just don't know how to…"

"Hmm-mmm."

She stopped talking, worried that what she really wanted to say would be too much.

But Dean didn't let the subject go. "But what are you afraid of?"

She paused for a long moment before she finally decided to venture ahead and tell him. "When we figure all this out, I assume Nate and Brice will go back to hunting together, even if mom doesn't join us."

Dean made a small sound to the affirmative.

"And they'll expect me to go with them."

Dean waited tensely, not daring to stir lest she stop talking.

"I was wondering…could…could I stay with you and Sam instead?"

Dean let go of the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Kenzie felt the movement and went on in a nervous rush, "I know they're my brothers and I know I said I'd only be with you guys and Bobby temporarily, but even with Nate and Brice alive, a lot has changed and…"

Dean cut her off by leaning down and planting a gentle kiss on her mouth.

"And I don't want to leave _you_ ," she whispered as Dean pulled back.

"No need to," he told her softly. "You can stay as long as you want…I don't want you to go, either."

Kenzie took a shuddering breath, but this one was out of relief rather than fear. She laid a hand on Dean's cheek and reached up just enough to pull him into another kiss.

As they had done the night before, their kiss slowly became more heated and Kenzie was the first to let her hands start exploring. She slid her hands over Dean's waist and up his back, tentatively at first then faster and harder as his mirrored movements urged her on. This time when he slipped a hand beneath her shirt, she leaned into his touch.

Again, she lost track of time, her senses only taking note of one thing: Dean. How close Dean was, the smell of Dean, the taste of Dean, the sounds she was enticing from Dean as well as the sounds he pulled effortlessly from her, all crowded into her mind and convinced her that nothing else was important at the moment. She willingly agreed.

It wasn't until his phone rang he moved away that Kenzie realized how much time had passed and that she was now flat on her back with Dean on top of her. She let out a little groan of reluctance when she let go, causing Dean to smirk as he answered the phone.

Kenzie rolled onto her side and snuggled into Dean as he hung up, "What's up?" she asked.

"What's up is that you and I just spent an astounding amount of time doing nothing."

"That was nothing?" Kenzie smiled, "I could have tried harder; all you had to do was say so."

"Oh trust me, dear, you did just fine. But we didn't find out anything about Super vamp."

"What did Nate and Sam find?"

"They talked to a nurse who saw Brice check out. Said he looked three sheets to the wind, but determined to go."

"I'll bet."

"And Sam said the fella at the gas station in town saw Brice too; said he asked for directions from there to some town called Fenton."

"Fenton?" Kenzie asked sharply, "Fenton, Nebraska?"

"You know it?"

"Fenton is…was, home."

"Any ideas why he would be going there?"

Kenzie shook her head, but then an idea struck her. "Fenton is also where we started hunting; it's where dad died."

"What got him?"

"Ghost. We took care of it."

"Well, Brice must think there's something left worth hobbling out of a hospital for. Come on," Dean said, standing up, "Boys will be back soon and we can hit the road."

Kenzie reluctantly followed suit. For one thing she'd have liked their close-quarters alone time to have lasted longer, but she quaked to think of going home after all this time; she had no desire to dig up her past again. What was buried should stay that way.

Author's Note:

Hey there, dear followers! So sorry about the long wait between chapters! Life, as it does, got busy! I've been having some personal issues too, which has my writer's self-esteem running low. But here you go! This chapter includes my first attempt at a smut-ish/romance scene, which you can probably tell. On that note, I rated this story as M when I started, but we'll see how it turns out, rating may change, so sorry if it turns out as less than you expect, but this is my first fanfic, so please bear with me. Thanks for your patience and thanks so much for reading! Reviews are welcome.


	11. Chapter 11 What She Is Getting

Chapter 11 "What She's Getting"

They drove day and night until they reached Fenton. Kenzie hung back with Dean while Sam and Nate went to check out the Dawson house for signs of Brice.

"Think I'll sleep there tonight," Nate said when they returned. "The house is still ours and he might show up there; then we can dig around in the morning." He turned from the Winchesters' motel room, looking expectantly back at his sister.

"I'm not going," she said.

"Sis, there's nothing wrong with the place. Brice and I have stayed there since –,"

"I won't go," Kenzie interrupted firmly.

"I'll go with you, Nate," Sam offered. "Might be a good idea to have someone with you. Even if Brice shows up, he might have someone or something on his tail."

The Dawson home still served as a base for Nate and his family so it was well kept and ready for its overnight guests.

Nate threw his bag into his bedroom then he and Sam began searching the house for anything that might give them a clue about their missing vampire or what Brice might be doing in Fenton. Nate was pretty sure his brother hadn't been to the house yet, but he hoped he could find something about the hunt that started all this. He knew his mom had been here just a few days before they took up the vampire case.

As they sorted through papers in the study, Nate kept the wheels in his brain moving: the vampire in question, why they'd been led back home, and what his sister had been doing while he was gone. His eyes roved over to the man he was working with. Sam Winchester. His mom had mentioned a John Winchester on occasion – he'd taught Karen a great deal about hunting. Karen said John was one of the best. While Sam was interviewing Brice's doctor at the hospital, Nate gave his mom's plan B – Bobby Singer – a call. Both to check in and bring Bobby up to speed and to check Sam and Dean's credentials. His sister seemed quite attached to them, so like a good brother, he got them checked out. He'd never met Bobby before, but based off what his mom told him, he trusted Singer's word about the Winchesters. Bobby's word was enough. Enough for their professional reputation, that is. Not enough for the way Kenzie looked at Dean.

"Something on your mind?" Sam's voice suddenly reminded Nate to pull his gaze back to the task at hand.

Nate shrugged, "Just thinking."

"Anything in particular?"

"My sister seems to like you two quite a bit. Just wondering what kind of guys she threw in with. Especially Dean."

Sam nodded knowingly, "You noticed."

"A blind man could notice. You have sisters, Sam?"

"No, it's just me and Dean."

"Well, big brothers tend to be real protective about who their little sisters hang around with; we like to know they're safe. Well, safe for a hunter."

"You won't find anyone more protective than Dean."

"Still wonder if there's anything I should know about him."

Sam paused in his search and leaned back on a desk. "Look, Dean's a hunter; you know firsthand what that entails. Sure, he sleeps with a gun under his pillow, his home base is his car, he knows how to kill nearly every monster under the sun, and he's not exactly the poster child of good health. He's probably never going to have a house with a backyard, weekend barbeques with the neighbors, a dog named Spot, and 2.5 kids. But that's not what your sister needs anyway, Nate. She's in this now. We are all in this. Hunters don't walk away from this life. If you're asking me what Kenzie is getting, I'll tell you: she's getting the kid who raised me on the road when our father was too obsessed to remember he had a toddler and a baby in the car. She's getting the kid who stood over me all night with a shotgun in a motel room when the monsters came after me. The kid who kid who got caught stealing peanut butter because I kept whining for a lousy banana sandwich. She's getting the man who refused to follow the reaper, because he wouldn't leave his family unprotected. She's getting the man who came back from forty years in Hell, and whose first thought after that was to find me and Bobby. He's gone to unbelievable lengths to keep our family – even strangers' families – together. Sure, he's rough and battered, Nate – all hunters are. But I can guarantee Dean will love Kenzie, he'll take care of her to his last breath. That's what she's getting."

"Hmm," Kenzie muttered from the bed, her eyes fixed on her laptop.

Dean straightened up from his position at the table, "Does 'Hmm' mean something good?"

"I got an email from that nurse Sam talked to. Said she remembered something more: Brice's doctor – a Brian Hayes – had left instructions for a security guard to be assigned to Brice's room, only Brice left before the guard came."

"Did she say why the doctor wanted a guard?"

Kenzie shook her head, "He just seemed very interested in Brice's case and said he wanted him watched 24/7."

"So where can we find this doctor?"

"Nurse says he hasn't shown up for any of his shifts since Brice disappeared, but he's supposed to be at a hospital fund raiser tomorrow night. He sent his staff an email saying he's been ill, but he will be at the event."

"Mighty suspicious illness…Well dear, better find yourself a dress; looks like we're going to a party."


	12. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Sorry about the lack of a break in the last chapter between San and Luke's conversation and Kenzie and Dean's scene. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to put a break in there. I tried and extra space, I tried (~~~), can't get it to work and evidentially can't edit it once the chapter is posted? If you know what I'm trying to do here, please tell me how! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 12 The Party

Chapter 12 The Party

Kenzie spent the whole next day getting ready for the hospital fundraiser. It took some time to convince Nate that it was a good idea for her and Dean to go, plus a little extra time to talk Nate into letting her go somewhere alone, with Dean, and purposely looking like a "red-headed Barbie" as Nate put it. Then she went into town to find something to wear so she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. Dean had a suit, so that was all well and good, but evening dresses were not exactly her usual hunter attire. Whenever she went undercover, she preferred less feminine roles. But tonight…She tried to tell herself it was nothing but the case, but a little bit of her kept getting excited about getting dressed up and going to a fancy party with Dean. It was that little part that had her put down three months' personal money on a strapless wine-purple dress that bunched off to one side with a silver brooch and had a sweetheart neckline. That little bit of her also had her fiddling with a curling iron half the afternoon and had her thankful that she knew a little something about makeup.

Sam had somehow gotten them both tickets to the event and gave them the names Dean Branson and Kenzie Davis. Despite Dean's protests that Baby liked formal occasions too, Kenzie talked him into using her Camaro. She said it would blend in better and then Sam and Nate could wait in the Impala down the street in case they were needed.

At half past seven, Dean was pacing around the motel room waiting for Kenzie who was getting ready next door in Nate's room.

"There's two things I don't understand about girls," he said. "Why they go to the bathroom in flocks and why they take all stinkin' day to dress for a party. It's not like she needs to do that much."

Sam smirked, "Flocks? Anyway, what do you mean 'doesn't have to do much'? This isn't the kind of thing hunters normally do, Dean. She had to get a dress, and for girls that requires a whole list of other stuff too."

"But she always looks good to me…"

"Good attitude, Dean. But we know it's worth the wait, right?"

"I hope so; I put about 24 hours of fuss and bother into this." Kenzie's voice had Dean swiveling around to look.

She looked fantastic. The dress hugged and held her just right. Black heeled-sandals gave her just a bit of lift. The top layer of her hair was pulled back loosely and light curls cascaded down her back. She'd noticed how Dean went out of his way to nuzzle her whenever she got out of the shower, so she added a bit more lavender perfume than usual.

"Are we ready, Branson?" she asked, smiling.

"I, uh…I.." Dean faltered.

"That's a 'yes'," Sam winked at Kenzie as he passed. "Nate's in the car. We'll see you two later; try to stay out of trouble…at least during the party."

They managed to blend in at the fundraiser, mingling and chatting with total strangers like they did this sort of thing all the time. Halfway through the evening, while Dean went to get them some more drinks, Kenzie overheard someone saying hello to Dr. Hayes. As the person walked away, Kenzie sidled up to him, "Doctor Hayes?" she asked, smiling widely.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Kenzie Davis. So nice to meet you."

"Do you work at the hospital?"

"Oh, no. I'm a journalist, but my parents were long-time supporters of the hospital; I came in their place this year."

"Well, it's very nice to have you here, Miss Davis."

She waved her hand and stepped a bit closer, "Please, call me Kenzie."

Hayes smiled and gave her a quick but thorough look-over. "I uh, thought I saw you come in with someone; didn't lose him, did you?"

"Frankly, I wouldn't mind if I did. I knew I was expected to bring someone, but…Oh, he's nice, but the man could talk a house plant to sleep."

Dean watched Kenzie closely from the bar. She'd spotted Dr. Hayes and started chatting him up. The plan was for her to work him away from the crowd so she and Dean could close in on him and get some answers. Looking back, he wondered why he agreed to the plan; the doctor was taking the bait a little too well and Kenzie was leading him on a little too easily. "C'mon, Kenzie, just get him out the damn door," he muttered.

Dean started working his way slowly through the crowd to follow them and had to slow himself down after a few steps. "She's got this," he told himself, "she can handle it…" But he almost jumped across the room when Hayes put his hand low on Kenzie's back to guide her out the door. Dean trailed them out the door and into the hotel garden. Turning a corner, her heard a yelp of surprise and rushed ahead, "Kenzie?" he called.

"I'm fine." Kenzie stood holding Hayes' arm behind his back, pushing him up against a wall in the shadows. Dean thought she looked like one of Mr. Bond's girls – all decked out in evening wear and currently scaring the crap out the man in front of her.

"What do you two want?" Hayes asked in a panicky voice.

Dean stepped up and took Kenzie's place, "First of all, we'd like you to be quiet, or this could get real messy real quick, got it?"

Dr. Hayes nodded vigorously.

"Good. Next, we want some answers about that patient you put a guard on."

"Guard never got to him. He checked out. I haven't seen him since!"

"Keep your voice down," Dean reminded him with a deadly tone.

"Why did you want a guard on him in the first place?" Kenzie asked. "What was wrong with him?"

Dr. Hayes squirmed in Dean's grip, reluctant to answer.

"Not in a chatty mood?" asked Dean smoothly. "Hey, look, we don't have to do this here. We can leave and find some nice, quiet, remote place to talk things out. We've got some friends parked out front who'd love to take us all for a ride. Your choice, pal."

After he was silent for a few more moments, Dean nodded to Kenzie, who pulled out her cell phone, "Right, I'll call them in."

"Ah, no wait!" Hayes begged.

"Something springing to mind, Doc?"

"I got a call the day before. Some guy who said he was with the police; he said a raid was going to go down the next day, just outside of town, in some abandoned barn. He told me to keep a lookout for anyone coming in with gunshot or stab wounds."

Hayes hesitated again and Dean pulled the man's arm tighter, "And?" he growled.

"And so, this guy came in the next day, dropped off another guy – all bloody and banged up, had some nasty cuts around his neck. The younger kid took off. I got the guy patched up but part way through I got called to emergency. Kinda forgot about him for a while. I called up to have a security guard put on the guy, then a short time later I heard that he took off."

"This guy from the police, did you get his credentials?" Kenzie asked sharply.

"Ummm…"

"Oh great. What about a name?"

"Uh, Crewer…Crewor…something like that."

"Your memory is fantastic," Kenzie commented dryly. "Glad you're not in some detail-oriented profession, like a doctor or something."

"Not a candidate for the CIA," Dean agreed. "Right, Doc, we're going to go now; be pal and don't yell or anything. Remember we have friends close by, so –,"

Just then, a woman came into the garden calling for Dr. Hayes.

"Oh, here you are –," she stopped short when she spotted Dean restraining the doctor. "Wha – Security!" she yelled.

"Ahh!" Dean growled in disgust. He shoved the doctor away from him and grabbed Kenzie's hand as several security guards burst through the door.

"C'mon!" Dean called, pulling Kenzie through the garden towards the parking lot. They jumped into Kenzie's car and sped away, headed for the outskirts of town. Dean kept driving until he was sure no one had followed them.

They stopped outside of town, pulling off the road, away from the town's lights. "I'm going back to the road to see if anyone's coming," Dean said, getting out of the car.

"Better call Sam and Nate, too," Kenzie reminded him.

"Right." Dean sneaked back from the stand of trees to the road; what few cars were on the road were driving at normal speeds and no flashing lights hailed police cars. Evidentially he and Kenzie were not worth pursuing. He pulled the phone from his pocket and called Sam.

"What the hell, Dean?" asked Sam. "I just saw you two tear out of there like your tails were on fire! Nate's on a coffee run or he'd probably have us tailing you!"

"Calm down, Sam; we're fine. We were having a calm discussion with Doctor Hayes and his girlfriend blew the whistle on us so we had to beat feet."

Sam sighed, "Fine, so where are you? You headed back to the motel?"

Dean almost gave an automatic "yes", but thought of something at the last minute.

"Ah ya know, Sammy, I'm thinking we'll go out for a bite to eat before we come back. Those fansy-shamncy parties serve food that looks like it's made for fairies. And I'm…hungry."

Sam rolled his eyes; he could almost hear his brother's smile through the phone. "Just a bite to eat, huh?"

"Well you know, what's dinner without a show of some sort?"

"Dude, Nate will kill you. And I'm not going to try to lie to a guy who already suspects you're messing around with his sister!"

"Who said anything about lies?" Dean asked innocently. "All I said was dinner and a show. I'll take care of Nate."

"Damn right you will."

Dean hung up and walked back to the car, where he found Kenzie digging a sweatshirt out of the backseat and reaching down to take her sandals off.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, the party's over. I ran out of that place in heels and my feet hurt. And I feel bloody uncomfortable in a strapless dress," she finished by determinedly slipping her arms into the baggy sweatshirt sleeves and zipping it up.

Dean slid into the car beside her as she continued to fumble with the strap on her shoe. "Well ok, that party is done. But come on, we went to all this trouble; we might as well have some fun."

Kenzie felt shivers shoot up her spine as she felt Dean's fingers slide underneath the sweatshirt at her shoulder, his pull slowly unzipping it. Suddenly Dean's lips were on her neck, sliding quickly between her ear and her collarbone and back again. His hands continued to pull the sweatshirt back off and Kenzie felt like her skin was on fire when he ran a warm hand over her bare shoulder. She let out a contented sigh at the same time her stomach decided to remind her that it was well past dinner time.

Dean chuckled as he heard the rumble, "I take it that's one vote for dinner?"

"Dinner would be helpful," she admitted, though she was reluctant to have him move away.

They drove back into town, keeping well away from the hotel. Most restaurants were closed for the night, but Dean found one place still open.

"You've got to be kidding," said Kenzie as Dean opened the car door for her at a small diner.

"I don't kid about food, dear."

Kenzie slid into a booth, well aware of the stares they were attracting from the few patrons in the diner, Dean in a suit and Kenzie in a full-length dress.

Dean, on the other hand, looked perfectly at home as he mulled over the menu. Finally he looked up and noticed Kenzie still staring at him in complete disbelief. "Something wrong?"

"You realize we're in a burger joint looking like Mr. and Mrs. Bond? I feel like a runway model in Mayberry."

"What, like they've never seen anyone on a date before?"

Despite still feeling like a Christmas tree in mid-June, once their food arrived, Kenzie forgot all her misgivings out the place. Dean had a way of making the whole thing feel fun and grand, like they were tourists seeing the path less traveled. Dean reasoned that since they went to the trouble of dressing for a night on the town, they might as well go on with it. They finally ended up in a park, sitting on the trunk of the car, looking up at the stars. Kenzie had Dean's suit jacket over her shoulders. Within minutes, they were back to their close-quarters recreation and Kenzie's senses kicked into overdrive. By morning light, she didn't remember going to a motel, though she vaguely recalled one of them mentioning that the floor rug looked cleaner than the bed, and then it was all blurry from then until she woke up. And as she woke up, she started to roll over but found herself encased in Dean's arms. Then suddenly the whole night came back to her. "Wowza," she breathed softly.

"I agree," she heard the gruff, sleepy voice beside her say, "it was definitely a wowza kind of night."


	14. Chapter 13 Blood and Bones

Chapter 13 "Blood and Bones"

Kenzie's eyes followed her trailing fingers along the lines of a book. "Think I might have him here," she murmured.

Nate sat across from her; he'd barely spoke to her since the initial 9a.m. argument they'd had when she had to get between her big brother and Dean. To say Nate wasn't thrilled that she stayed out all night was putting it lightly. Up to that point, she'd always thought her brothers threatening her dates was just a front – a tough appearance to let the guy know she was protected. This morning was proving that there much was more to it.

"Cruor," she said out loud. "Got him."

She looked up at Nate and her triumphant feeling faded. Nate looked like he was calculating, weighing his options. But there was something else, too; something Kenzie wasn't sure she had ever seen before.

"Nate, what's wrong? I thought we were done with last night," she sighed and marked her place in the book before gathering up her notes.

"What are you going to do, Kenzie?" Nate asked quietly.

Kenzie looked confused, "I'm…I'm going to show Sam and Dean what I found out about -,"

"No, I mean…is this deal with you and Dean going to be a permanent thing? Are you planning to stick with him?"

"Yes. I do."

"Think you know who you're getting?"

"Nate, you know I'll never get to not be a hunter, or if I do it will be a long, long time. So why would I love someone who isn't in this life?"

"Love, huh?" Nate said to himself. "I'm not talking hunters versus normal life here, sis. I'm talking Dean Winchester as a person – do you think you can handle him all the time? Is he going to stick with you?"

Kenzie bristled. "I wasn't born last night, Nate. I don't give my feelings to just anyone."

Nate bowed his head and clasped his hands between his knees, "You don't get what I'm saying, here, kid. They say the hardest thing a man will ever do is hand over the protection of his daughter to another man. Since dad's been gone, what men have taken care of you?"

Realization hit Kenzie and she went quiet as Nate finished.

"You're my little sister and I'm not supposed to just let you go, willy-nilly. Why do think I cut loose on Dean this morning? You think I don't want to you be happy? It's my job to make sure he makes the cut – make sure he's not trying to corner you. You can't expect me to let you go with him without hearing…something…from you."

Nate finished and rubbed his hands across his face. Kenzie could see him trying to hide his anxieties.

"Nate, I'll admit I haven't known Dean very long. But in that short time, I know with certainty that he is loyal, he is gentle, he cares about me. The man came back from forty years in hell and all he could think about was getting to his family. He sat up with me when I had nightmares about you and Brice. I don't know what you want to hear, Nate. But I love him and I trust him. That's about all I can give you."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

Kenzie reached for the remainder of her notes when something in her journal caught her eye; a few of her pages were copies of those her mom kept. Most of those copied pages were made at random and not been read yet – she was simply making copies as a backup, in case something separated her from her mom and she needed the extra info for a case. She'd scanned pages whenever she was at a library, getting the journal copied as quickly as possible. Now suddenly, she realized what she had. She gasped as the pieces came together.

 **~SPN~**

"I take it Nate was a tad unhappy this morning," Sam commented as he continued to search for name Dr. Hayes had given Jade and Dean.

"Almost ripped both our heads off," Dean grumbled. Dean had tried to through himself into the research when he got back, but his mind kept turning to his night with Kenzie; eventually he just ended up staring at the pile of books on the table in front of him.

"Warned you."

"Oh, well good for you, Sam."

"Can't blame him though. If she was your sister and she stayed out all night with a guy, what would you do?"

"I'd snap his neck."

"Exactly," Sam smiled and looked pointedly at his brother. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Kenzie said she could talk him out of shooting me; for now, I'm going to go with that plan. Then I'll try to make peace with Nate."

Just then, Nate and Kenzie came into the room. Nate walked in silently and sat on the foot of one of the beds. Kenzie followed just behind, head down, clutching a lore book and a faded blue leather journal. She sat down next to her brother, near Dean's chair. For several seconds, neither of them spoke; Dean could see the gears turning in Nate's mind and Kenzie was staring at the two books in her hand as though she was seeing right through them.

Finally Kenzie spoke up shakily, "We found our vamp. The name is Cruor – Latin for blood. He's one of the oldest." She opened the book to the place she marked and handed it to Dean, "Apparently, vampires like Cruor sometimes work with demons to collect souls. It started at a time when vampires were being hunted by the scores – they were being chased and their nests were being disbanded and they were having a hard time feeding. They went to the demons for help, so the demons had them fetch humans whose time was up. The vampires could eat, and then bring the souls to the demons. Took some of the work out for the demons and kept the vampires going at the same time."

Dean handed the book across to Sam. "So if Cruor is one of these collectors, what does he want with Nate and Brice? Did one of you make a deal?"

Nate remained silent; now looking like the world was passing away in front of him.

"I found something in one of mom's journal pages…" Kenzie hesitated. "Mom made the deal," she finished quietly.

"So Cruor wasn't after your brothers anyway?" asked Dean.

"No…Yes," Kenzie put her hands on her head and shook her head in frustration.

Dean moved his chair so he was sitting in front of Kenzie. He covered one of her hands with both of his. "Take it easy, honey. Take a breath."

At his touch, Kenzie felt the earth come firmly beneath her again. For several moments, she focused on Dean's hands rubbing circles into hers. When she finally caught her breath, she sole a glance sideways at Nate, but his face was hidden behind his hands and he showed no signs of helping her through the story.

"Kenzie?" Dean's voice brought her back to look at him. "I'm right here," he said quietly.

Kenzie nodded and cleared her throat as she started. "When I was born, mom couldn't handle the delivery; the strain was too hard on her. The doctors said they were going to lose her. Dad made a crossroads deal to save her. The demon gave him fifteen. When I was fourteen, dad was killed by a vengeful spirit – that was when we started hunting. We got the spirit, but dad died before his time was up, so the demon couldn't collect. According to the journal pages I have, the demon found mom a few months ago and said he wanted me instead, since it was my birth that caused all this," Kenzie croaked out the last few words and Dean's fingers ran comfortingly over her hand again until she steadied herself once more.

"So, Cruor came after you?" Sam prompted gently.

Kenzie shook her head. "Mom eventually struck her own deal; she talked the demon out of it, but of course he still wanted a soul."

"Never should have negotiated with the bastard," Nate suddenly interjected angrily, making Kenzie jump and Dean's eyes dart sharply toward him.

"She should have killed him while she had him in the trap!"

"That wouldn't have solved it, Nate," Kenzie said wearily, "all of hell would have known about that deal."

Nate grumbled something unintelligible and went quiet again – this time, Dean could feel an angry heat coming off him as Nate plowed his fingers through his hair.

"The demon told mom he could take all three of her kids," Kenzie went on, "or…"

Nate growled and Kenzie's eyes filled as she let go of the journal so she could put her other shaky hand into Dean's.

"She agreed that…that…Cruor would collect a soul for the demon as planned and he wanted something else for it taking so long. Cruor was meant to feed off Brice and then take his soul to the demon and turn Nate to take into his nest."

The room went deathly quiet, except for Kenzie's quiet crying. She sat now engulfed in Dean's arms, further back on the bed. Nate, Sam could tell by his breathing, was crying too, but he did it silently and without looking up; he kept it hidden, much like another big brother Sam could mention.

Dean's chin rested on top of Kenzie's head and his hands rubbed slow circles into her back.

"We have to find Brice," she finally managed, just barely loud enough for them all to hear.

"We have to find mom," Nate snarled, finally looking up. "She started all this."

"And do what, Nate?"

"It's her fault," he repeated, "and you said it yourself, Kenzie – all of hell will know about this; it's not going to be solved by finding one demon!"

"Anyone forgetting about the vampire gunning for you and Brice?" Dean asked. "We're not going to find anyone else in this puzzle until we find him."

"But we don't know where to look," Kenzie pointed out, "we don't know what demon made the deal, either."

"Well, we know it started with your dad," Sam spoke up. "It started in this town; it revolved around Kenzie and your mom first. There must be people around here who remember when you were born and when your dad died. We'll start there."

 **~SPN~**

Tink!

Sam's shovel hit metal, just a few feet under the earth. Just as Nate said, there was nothing but a metal urn of ashes at Ray Dawson's grave. Sam picked up the urn and shook it, just to be sure; there was a faint flakey sound.

"Okay, so step one – make sure Ray's bones are gone – is checked off," he concluded.

Dean nodded. "And they burned his close personal possessions, too."

"Now what?"

"I asked around town a little, got a tip to check in with a Celeste Anderson. She runs the ice rink where Ray was found dead."

"Okay." Sam placed the urn back into the ground and began covering it up. "And Nate's at the hospital trying to find the doctor who delivered Kenzie. Where is Kenzie, anyway? Did she go with him?"

"No, said she wanted to check something else out while she was in town."

"Well then, let's go find Celeste Anderson."

 **~SPN~**

"Sorry Celeste isn't here right now, agents," a tall old man with a custodial shirt ushered Sam and Dean into a conference room at the rink. "It's the peak of the competition season right now and what little time Celeste doesn't spend here, she's at home getting some well-needed rest." He shut the door behind them, cutting off the violin music coming from the ice.

"That's alright, Mr. –?" Sam hesitated.

"Amos Bartholomew," the man answered. "Though the kids used to call me Balto," he added proudly. He smiled, remembering how many "kids" he'd seen there over the years.

"Mr. Bartholomew," Sam continued, "we're re-opening an old case. Were you here when Mr. Ray Dawson was found dead in the rink?"

The old man's eyes went dark and his smile fell. "I was Celeste's assistant coach at the time."

"What do you remember about it?" asked Dean.

"Not much, to be honest; I came in after Celeste found him, when she opened that morning. Said if she didn't know better, she'd thought some kind of wild animal had been at him."

"What about your skaters? Any of them still around?"

The man shook his head, "Nah, they're long gone. They come, they try to become Celeste's golden kids, eventually they move on. That was the last year we had one exceptional skater. Never found another since then." He scanned the pictures hanging on the walls, as if looking into the past and a bit of light came back into his eyes.

"Funny you should ask about those skaters – the ones we had then – one showed up here this evening. Still out there, as a matter of fact. She was our very best. Celeste was prepping her for the Olympic trials when it happened. No one has held a candle to that kid since."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"Still out there, you said?" Sam asked.

Eyes still fixed on the pictures, the man nodded.

Sam and Dean excused themselves and started back down the hallway and into the empty arena seats. The music in the arena had changed from a soft violin to a more energetic song – starting out slowly and building up to a much faster tempo.

"Funny we should ask?" Dean echoed, glancing back at the man in the conference room, "Because that sounds like a coincidence, right, that they had a kid looking at the Olympics that year, and haven't had a good skater since?"

"Dean…" Sam started as the stepped down a few rows of seats.

"I don't see a connection yet between that and Ray Dawson," Dean went on.

"Dean…" Sam stopped and Dean settled into a seat, still talking.

"We'll have to ask his kids why he'd even be here…"

"Dean!" Sam sat down and forcibly nudged his brother. "It's Kenzie!"

"What's Kenzie?"

Sam's eye's were fixed on the ice below. He pointed to the skater, "Kenzie."

Dean looked. The skater below had Kenzie's light red hair, but it was pulled tightly into a braid. She wore black pants and a blue sweatshirt. Her feet kept perfect time to the music – first slow and graceful, then picking up faster and more aggressively as the music turned from that song to yet another. Dean immediately recognized the classic rock tune and wondered if this professional, past version of Kenzie had picked it or if it was something she had just for tonight. But it must have been from the past, judging from the way her moves seemed to be perfectly fitted to the song.

"This…this was their best kid?" Sam asked in amazement.

"The very best," the boys turned to see Bartholomew making his way past, behind them. "She still remembers it all, too. Oh, what Celeste wouldn't have done to keep her around." The man shook his head and continued on his way.

Sam and Dean watched as Kenzie went through one song after another. She made jumps and flowed like a fish in the water and made spin after spin without missing a beat.

"I never understood how they do that without throwing up," Dean murmured.

Gradually, the music eased back down and Dean could see firsthand what the phrase "poetry in motion" really meant.

"Think she used to wear those short little skirts when she skated?" he asked, mostly to himself. Sam only smiled and shook his head.

Kenzie, meanwhile, was getting reacquainted with her first loves: ice, skates, speed, and putting them all together with the music. This is what normal used to be. She had spent nearly every waking hour on the ice – before and after school and long hours on the weekends. Here was her kingdom and she was back, free. Tonight she'd stepped tentatively onto the ice, feeling like she was trying to act out someone else's life. She couldn't believe this used to be her; it was like stepping back in time. But her muscles remembered how and when to move and her brain kept all the steps in line with her music and before long it felt like nothing had changed. She pictured her coach and her father on the sides, calling out tips and correcting this or that about her form.

Just in time, the music switched over to a slower, sad song as she remembered her last performance. She was fourteen and it was the day before her father was found dead, just off the ice.

She momentarily sped up with the music and thought about her mother not accepting the police report, instead finding that her husband was killed by a spirit – a spirit who wanted to relive her glory days _inside Kenzie_ but Ray refused to let it.

She slowed with the song and thought about telling her friends and her coach that she was moving away and had to quit the team. It was a hard day, leaving her friends, her sports career, all those high expectations. And she couldn't even tell her friends why she was leaving; it was a no-brainer that no one would understand "going to hunt monsters like the ghost that killed my dad".

Tonight, she could still picture her father standing on the sidelines, cheering her on. But as it always was since his death, the picture was clouded by blood. The music ended as Kenzie's eyes filled with tears for what could have been and what was lost. She turned to her father's usual place and took a bow.


	15. Chapter 14 Package Deal

Chapter 14 "Package Deal"

"So where does this leave us?" Kenzie heard her brother's voice as she stepped into the dingy motel room – a world away from the ice she spent her evening on.

"You can't be sure that Celeste didn't have something to do with the spirit that wanted Kenzie," said Sam in an exhausted voice.

"Yeah, I can; Celeste wouldn't know first thing about dealing with a spirit. Besides, we dealt with that. The spirit is gone."

"So we have nothing? No leads left?"

"Just one." Nate pulled a scrap of paper out of his jacket, "List of meeting places that mom kept. Places we were supposed to wait if we got separated from each other."

"Like Bobby's?" Dean asked as Kenzie came to join the group.

"Bobby's was the place to be if everything went wrong and we didn't know what happened. Obviously only Kenzie got there. Maybe mom and Brice went to one of the others. I know it's grabbing at straws, but that's about all we're down to."

One week and a dozen hideouts finally landed them at a lakeside cabin in Kentucky.

"I'll go," Kenzie sighed, taking her turn to climb out of the Impala and pop her head into yet another ramshackle hunter's base. Dean took the brief opportunity to do something alone with Kenzie and hopped out just behind her.

"This is the last one," she said as Dean caught up with her. "If Brice isn't here, I don't know what we'll do. Do we just sit around and wait for the demon to come for me instead?"

Dean grabbed Kenzie's hand as the climbed the porch, "No demon is taking you anywhere, sweetheart. If this isn't the place, we'll keep digging until we find Brice."

Kenzie gave him a half-hearted smile and tried the door; it was unlocked and she cautiously pushed it open. Her eyes were just starting to adjust to the dim light when she heard a scream; Dean yanked her out of the way just as something glass shattered on the wall near her head!

Sam and Nate rushed into cabin, guns drawn.

"No! I told you to stay away! Go away! Don't you ever listen?" the voice raged.

Kenzie stared from her position under Dean's arm, "Mom?" she gasped.

Sure enough, Dean looked up also and there, standing fuming angry in the middle of the room, was the spitting image of Kenzie. A bit of gray showed at her temples but she had the same wavy red hair as Kenzie, and the same pale blue eyes. She looked tired and worn, as if she'd been awake for days.

"Mom?" Nate echoed. "We thought we'd find Brice here. What are you doing here?"

"No, Nate," she hissed, "Get your sister and get away from me!"

Nate stiffened, though he lowered his gun. "She didn't do anything wrong, you had no right to drive her away; she's a good hunter! And you owe us some answers, besides!"

"I owe you nothing of the kind, Nathan Lee! Now you listen to me and get the two of you away! You should be at Bobby's like I told you to be."

"Not until you give us some answers," said Dean. "Your kids have nearly been killed; one of them may already be dead –,"

"Brice isn't dead," Karen interrupted.

"Then where is he?"

Kenzie shook her head and moved as if to shoo them all out, "No time for that now. You have to leave; they're watching me. You need to get away!"

"Who's watching?" Dean asked sharply, drawing Kenzie closer to him. "If we need to leave, you should come with us, we'll all be safe at Bobby's."

"No. No time for –," she broke off abruptly as they heard a horrible crashing sound from above! A hole tore through in the roof and the room was filled with black smoke as demons materialized all around the room.

"Well, well. Perfect timing on the family reunion, Karen," one of the demons spoke up. And you even brought us something extra," he added, glancing at the Winchesters.

"What do you want?" Karen asked shakily.

"The boss would like to talk with you. It almost looks like you've been trying to double-cross us, and we really don't appreciate that. We've come to take you to headquarters for a little chat – see if we can figure out which souls are due us."

"We're not going anywhere," Dean growled.

"That so? You look like a package deal to me, Dean," the demon commented, pointing to Kenzie. "We all ready, then?"

The next thing Kenzie felt was a sharp tug on her body and her lungs gasping for air amid smoke and heat. She screamed as everything around her went black and she was yanked away from Dean. The last thing she remembered was Dean yelling something to her, and the horrible sound of countless souls screaming for release.

 **To be continued…**

 **Author's note:** Hey everybody! Thanks for reading! I've learned a few things with my first fanfic, and one of those things is, I should not post as I write. I will finish this story in Part2, but I will write it all and post if all at once. Sorry it took this long to get the story this far, but as I said, I've learned from it. I really, really, hope you check in for Part2, and thanks very much for reading! Reviews welcome!


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